Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies

by Charlene Li

Overview

Corporate executives are struggling with a new trend: people using online social technologies (blogs, social networking sites, YouTube, podcasts) to discuss products and companies, write their own news, and find their own deals. This groundswell is global, it's unstoppable, it affects every industry -- and it's utterly foreign to the powerful companies running things now.

When consumers you've never met are rating your company's products in public forums with which you have no experience or influence, your company is vulnerable. In Groundswell, Charlene Li and Josh Bernoff of Forrester, Inc. explain how to turn this threat into an opportunity.

Using tools and data straight from Forrester, you'll learn how to:

· Evaluate new social technologies as they emerge

· Determine how different groups of consumers are participating in social technology arenas

· Apply a four-step process for formulating your future strategy

· Build social technologies into your business -- including monitoring your brand value, talking with the groundswell through marketing and PR campaigns, and energizing your best customers to recruit their peers

Timely and insightful, this book is required reading for executives seeking to protect and strengthen their company's public image

Product Details

ISBN-13:	2901422125006
Publisher:	Harvard Business Review Press
Publication date:	04/21/2008
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	286
Product dimensions:	6.50(w) x 1.50(h) x 9.50(d)

About the Author

Charlene Li is an independent thought leader and founder of the Altimeter Group. Josh Bernoff is a vice president at Forrester Research and one of their most senior and most frequently quoted research analysts. He created the Technographics segmentation, a classification of consumers according to how they approach technology.

Table of Contents

Introduction     ix
Understanding the groundswell
Why the groundswell-and why now?     3
Jujitsu and the technologies of the groundswell     17
The social technographics profile     39
Tapping the groundswell
Strategies for tapping the groundswell     65
Listening to the groundswell     77
Talking with the groundswell     99
Energizing the groundswell     129
Helping the groundswell support itself     153
Embracing the groundswell     179
The groundswell transforms
How connecting with the groundswell transforms your company     197
The groundswell inside your company     215
The future of the groundswell     233
Acknowledgments     243
Notes     247
Case Index     265
Subject Index     269
About the Authors     283

What People are Saying About This

Cathie Black

"Groundswell provides practical advice on how to stay nimble and flexible in an ever-morphing digital world. Enabling your company to respond to change quickly-especially when talking to and supporting your consumers-is essential for business success."--(Cathie Black, President, Hearst Magazines)

John T. Chambers

"The first phase of the Internet was about getting everyone connected. In this next phase, which changes the way we work, live, play, and learn, we're starting to realize the value of those connections as well as the new communications and experiences those interactions lead to-the 'human network.' Groundswell effectively documents this shift and underscores the opportunities available to all from this major market transition."--(John T. Chambers, Chairman and CEO, Cisco)

Seth Godin

"Groundswell is jammed with big ideas, useful stories, and quotable stats. This is the new industrial revolution. Are you on board?"--(Seth Godin, author, Meatball Sundae)

Clark Kokich

"Groundswell is a comprehensive look at the tidal wave of change engulfing marketers. Nobody should attempt to engage the newly empowered and emboldened consumer without first hearing what Li and Bernoff have to say on the subject."--(Clark Kokich, CEO, Avenue A

Christina Norman

"Heed the Groundswell! It's critical reading and helped us master the new dynamics of social media."--(Christina Norman, President, MTV)

From the Publisher

“If you haven’t read the book, I would highly recommend you buy a personal copy and read it to get a comprehensive understanding of how our world is being transformed by social technologies and how you can take advantage of it.” - Business 2 Community

Scott Cook

"This book will rock your world, if social technology hasn't rocked it already. It's a tsunami of unstoppable force. Amazon, Procter & Gamble, Facebook, Google, and Dell are profiting from the crest of the wave. Are you? Li and Bernoff are the apostles of the tsunami. This book will be your bible."--(Scott Cook, Founder and Chairman of the Executive Committee, Intuit)

Editorial Reviews

...you can't control users looking to utilize Web 2.0 technologies such as blogs, wikis and social networks... CIOs and other business leaders must embrace these technologies in the enterprise, and enable their employees to share and work collectively with each other to foster new innovations.

CIO Magazine

... for Groundswell's intended audience - managers struggling to answer questions such as "should my soap company have a presence on Facebook?" or "why isn't anyone reading our company blog?" - the emphasis on data and analytics is not a bug - it's a feature.

The Financial Times

“If you haven’t read the book, I would highly recommend you buy a personal copy and read it to get a comprehensive understanding of how our world is being transformed by social technologies and how you can take advantage of it.” - Business 2 Community

From the Publisher